You mentioned that Airway Management (makers of TAPS) are introducing a new intra oral mouth shield for the TAP 3 around the November timeframe. I have talked to the VA and they have agreed to order one for me when it comes out. Do you have any more information on a release date? I couldn't find anything about it on the Airway Management Inc. website. I am still having trouble with dry mouth resulting from breathing thru my mouth during sleep apnea episodes. Any help you could provide would be appreciated.
Sorry, I took so long to get back to you, but there was no information. According to the General Manager of Airway Management, the intra-oral mouth shields for the Tap3/DreamTap should be commercially available by the end of the second quarter, 2018. The final production-ready prototypes have been approved and signed off. I have been given a very few pre-production prototypes to test and I can say that the final design does work well. They are currently working on the tooling for production, so things are looking up. Arthur B. Luisi, Jr., D.M.D.
Thanks for your reply Dr. Luisi. I'm looking forward to getting the intra-oral mouth shield for my TAP3. I am still having problem with dry mouth when using my oral appliance.
You are welcome. The few patients with dry mouth problems that I have been able to get prototype mouth shields for have definitely been helped. Just make sure that you work on getting your nasal patency in the best possible shape prior to starting the mouth shield so that the air can go easily through the nose. Arthur B. Luisi, Jr., D.M.D.
TAP 3 and Dream TAP open the distance between the top and bottom teeth more than most appliances. This can make it difficult for you to close your lips around the device during sleep when the muscles are relaxed. Some appliances (Herbst, Printed nylon, and others) can be designed to keep your teeth almost in contact so that an open mouth at night is not a problem. Any qualified dentist should be able to offer many different styles of appliance based on your muscle tone, lip closure and the anatomy of your mouth. This is why the FDA has more than 100 devices cleared for treating sleep apnea. Strong evidence, comparing one oral appliance design to another, has shown no difference between how well they work , but there are differences in comfort, size and side-effects depending on the design.
I respectfully disagree that strong evidence, comparing one oral appliance design to another, has shown no difference between how well they work. It is clear that, all other things being equal, oral appliances that hold the mouth closed(do not allow the mouth to fall open at night) will have significantly better efficacy than designs that do allow the mouth to fall open in the name of "comfort". Please see the study that I have posted from the J Oral Rehabil. under the topic "Patients deserve oral sleep apnea appliances that work". It is fairly common knowledge among sleep dentists and OA manufacturers the oral appliances that hold the mouth closed work better. Arthur B. Luisi, Jr., D.M.D.
It is true that the standard Tap and DreamTap do open the bite somewhat more than some other appliances. This is a matter of millimeters and the majority of patients can accommodate. The upside of this is that the mouth can be kept from falling open during sleep, which increases efficacy while still allowing some space for air exchange to accommodate mouth breathers. Both the Tap and the DreamTap can optionally ordered with the bite more closed than the standard design and the manufacturer is in the process of offering new hook designs that will allow the bite to be further closed, if desired. So the problem is being addressed. Arthur B. Luisi, Jr., D.M.D.
